In that mythical saga, black killers are victims and black victims are saints; based upon newspaper coverage alone, one is obliged to conclude that the “black community” has more “honor students” than is statistically likely; individuals wind up “in the wrong place at the wrong time” with alarming frequency; and “cases of mistaken identity” are weirdly epidemic. (Insert your own “they all look alike” joke here.)

For instance, we’re meant to think of Jermaine Smith as a hero: “He died in a hail of bullets at a big weekend barbecue” last month because “he saw the danger coming and hustled several children out of harm’s way.”

However, it sounds like Smith—“an entertainer, some-time contractor and father of a newborn son”—was being targeted and knew it; his presence was what drew gunmen to the “community get-together” at the “public housing complex” in the first place.